Vision and mission of two great statesmen

I refer to A.G. Weerasinghe’s letter to you which appeared in the Daily Mirror in January. While agreeing wholeheartedly with the contents of the said letter, I wish to present another facet of exemplary statesmanship, sans Academic Qualifications. Coming instantly to my mind, in this regard, are two cases of exemplary statesmanship; namely that of DS Senanayaka, the first Prime Minister of Independent Ceylon, and Sir Winston Churchill, War Time PM of Great Britain. Though both these statesmen lacked high Academic attainments, their hallmark was good social and family background coupled with farsighted and sagacious vision, and profound concern and determination to serve people genuinely.

DS Senanayaka’s family heritage is that he hailed from Botale Waluwwa in Mirigama and had his secondary education at the prestigious S.thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia. He never advanced academically, unlike his son Dudley, who acquired a ‘Tripos’ from Cambridge University.

DS was a humble leader, who spent much of his time in the rural interior and mingled with the Agricultural community, and thus armed with first hand information he achieved his vision for agricultural and irrigation development in Sri Lanka and hydro power with Gal Oya, Inginiyagala and Uda Walawe Projects tagged to his name. He also inherited the description ‘Father of the Nation’ which none could match.

The story of Sir Winston Churchill, the War Time British Premier is somewhat similar to that of DS, Sir Winston hailed from an aristocratic family, being the son of Lord Randolph Churchill, Winston Churchill too never attained Academic heights though educated at the prestigious Harrow School. His greater interest while at school centred on military aspects, and early in school life, he enrolled himself in the Harrow Rifle Corps and eventually entered the famous Sandhurst Military Academy at the age of 18.

When his turn came to be the British PM when the WW II was on. His early military exposure helped him somewhat. However, managing War affairs and State Affairs in a war environment, and the welfare of British citizens, who were undergoing immense hardships due to the war, was no easy task. With his never- failing vision and mission, coupled with his genuine concern for the masses and his gifted oratorical excellence helped him keep Great Britain and its fighting forces motivated and contended.

One other commendable characteristic of both statesmen referred to above, is that they neither held empty promises to people, nor uttered empty deceptive words to mislead the masses. Their life stories are an example to all. Linton Jayaweera Pita kotte